The Candid Review: A Blog About Appeals

Being convicted in a criminal case can cause some serious consequences in your personal and professional life. There are a number of privileges you might lose, including your right to drive and to vote. The punishment for a more serious felony will be thousands of dollars in fines and a longer prison term. The good news is that the constitution gives you the right to appeal your conviction in a higher court. You can use a highly qualified criminal appeal lawyer to appeal the case. Conviction and sentence will be reversed if any legal errors are found in the lower court’s decision. Here are some tips that can help you maximize the chances of winning a criminal appeal.

Grounds for the Criminal Appeal

The defendant who appeals to the appellate court must know on what grounds the appeal can be filed. The appeal should be purely based on law and not on facts, as the jury decides the facts. The criminal appeal can be filed for sentencing errors, false arrest, incorrect jury instructions, improper admission of evidence, lack of evidence or exclusion of evidence, jurors’ misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, and prosecutorial misconduct. The defendant must demonstrate that one or more of these factors led to his conviction.

Hire an Experienced Criminal Appeal Lawyer

You need a qualified and experienced criminal appeal attorney to win the appeal. They will have to decide on the grounds for appeal and file the notice of appeal to oral argument. Make sure your attorney has handled similar cases in the past and has a high success rate.

Collect All the Transcripts and Evidence

To increase your chances of winning, you must have proper evidence to substantiate your grounds for the criminal appeal. It’s essential to gather the court transcript to present it to the court of appeal.

File the Appeal on Time

After you have figured out the grounds for appeal, it’s time to file the notice of appeal at the trial court within the window period of 30 to 60 days, depending on the crime’s seriousness. The notice of appeal informs the court and the appellee that you seek a review of the case. Both parties will file appellate briefs.  Sometimes, the appellate court makes its decision based on the briefs. If these arguments are not sufficient, the courts will hear oral arguments.

The judges of the appellate court will go through your brief and listen to the arguments and come up with the decision to reverse or affirm the conviction. If the court affirms the conviction, you need to discuss with your criminal appeal lawyer to find out the next step.